The War of the Ring
by Sin.Of.Dreams
Summary: Twilight/Lord of the Rings.I will add and change things to the original story but the essence will remain the same. Dont have to have read LOTR, though a little knowledge would help. Twilight storyline irrelevant. Dont have to have read Twilight.
1. Introduction

**Hey guys. So I know I said I would start on the story that you guys voted on. And I will after my other story is finished. But this idea has just been pestering me lately, and I really wanted to write it out and see what you guys thought of it. **

**It's a Lord of the Rings crossover. But there will be no Lord of the Rings characters. It will be all Twilight characters and characters that I make up. You don't have to have seen or read the books of Lord of the Rings, as I will change a lot of things. Though it would help to at least have a little bit of knowledge on them. The only thing that I am taking from Lord of the Rings is the basic plot, some of the things that happen (though will change them a bit) and the setting. I will try to explain some phrases at the bottom of the page. **

**This is merely an introduction. None of the major characters are directly involved in this chapter; I might post another chapter just to show you the plot of the story a little better. It is pretty much the same as the introduction to Fellowship of the Ring so all credit goes to Phillipa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh for writing it. **

**~R~E~V~I~E~W~P~L~E~A~S~E~**

Illya tanya malda si il tinta

Il illya ron ya rana ier wanwa

I' iant tanya beleg si il lanta

Tumba orns ier il ed' na I' pinquelek

Tuulo I' asto naur tulieaed

Kalian tuulo I' duath ehtele

Echannen hyanda tanya rusva

I' quenliya au' aran

(A/N. Can anyone tell me what that is? If you can you are my new hero.)

The world is constantly changing; I see the trees and hills change they turn from peaceful and bright villages to dark mountains and evil towers. I hear the sounds of the creatures change from the beautiful chirping of the birds to the wails of evil demons come from the deep places of the world. I feel the evil that threatens to devour us all as it tried to once, so long ago.

It all began with the forging of the Great Rings.

Three were gifted to the Elves, immortal wisest and fairest of all beings.

Seven, to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of mountain hall.

And nine. Nine Rings were given to the race of Men, who above all else desire power.

For within these Rings was the strength and power to govern each race.

But they were all of them deceived. For though they believed themselves to be the masters of their Rings of Power when really, another was controlling both the Rings and their masters.

In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom the dark lord Calean forged, in secret, a master ring, one to control all others. And into this ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life.

One by one, the free lands of middle earth fell to the power of the ring.

But there was some...who resisted.

A last alliance of Men and Elves marched against the Armies of Mordor and fought for the freedom of Middle Earth.

The King of Numeanor, Kaolaan, lead the Men through the mass of demons, every man stayed in perfect order, though the creatures screamed and wailed at them constantly.

Gil-galad, King of Noldor, lead his army of elves in the battle, all of them strong, beautiful and skilled.

Eventually the Last Alliance had the upper hand, victory was near!

But the power of the Ring could not be undone.

Calean made his way to the Alliance, his stride sure and confident. All stopped their individual battles to watch him in silent fear. He stood meters higher than them all, clad in black, charred, spiked armour.

Kaolaan, in a last attempt to defeat him ran forward on his own. Several of his most loyal men instantly followed him.

It was a brave attempt, but in vain nonetheless.

With a single sweep of his colossal spiked mace all the men were swept aside, as if they were nothing but ash, and were thrown into the mountain side.

It was within this moment, when all hope had faded when Kadeem, son of the King, dashed to his father's lifeless body. Calean turned about, ready to strike him down in a moment's notice.

Kadeem looked into the face of Calean, fear and anguish in his eyes over the loss of his father.

Calean strode forward, intent on murder, he reached out to take Kadeem by the throat. But Kadeem took the hilt of his father's sword. The great sword, named Aideen, had been shattered when Kaolaan hit the side of the mountain. Though still left, attached to the hilt, was a sharp piece of the sword, nearly 30 inches long. He swung it with all the strength he had left in his body.

Calean's hand, still reaching towards Kadeem, was cut off easily with his mighty swing.

Calean lurched back and let out an animalistic cry, for the hand that had been cut off bore the Ring.

Calean had bound himself to the Ring using his blood, and because the Ring had been taken from him his body was destroyed. When he was killed, his evil power let out a mighty sound wave as it was destroyed, killing all of his minions that were left alive. But the men and elves were left unharmed by it.

The Ring passed to Kadeem, who was given one chance to destroy all evil. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted, and the Ring of Power has a will of its own. It betrayed Kadeem, to his death.

Kadeem had wished to take the Ring back to his home, and use it for good. But on the journey there, they were ambushed by orcs. Kadeem, desperate to live, put the Ring on and used its power to disappear.

Kadeem ran from the battle, and jumped into the great river Anduin. But as he was fleeing, the Ring slipped from his finger, he became visible to the Orcs, and they shot him with three arrows.

The Ring drifted to the bottom of the great river and was lost.

History became legend, and legend became myth, and some things that should not have been forgotten were lost.

For two and a half thousand years the Ring fell out of all knowledge, but when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer.

The Ring came to the creature Gollum, who was utterly consumed by it. He took it and hid himself with it deep in the Misty Mountains. The Ring brought to Gollum unnatural long life. And for five hundred years it poisoned his mind.

Many years passed, filled with peace, the people of the world blissfully unaware of the presence of the Ring and the Dark Lord that was slowly building his spirit back up.

Soon, shadows crept back into the forests of the world. Rumour had grown of a shadow in the east, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring perceived, its time had now come.

It abandoned Gollum, slipping from his hand and falling down a deep trench in the cave. Gollum tried to reach down into the trench but it was far too deep.

The Ring had fallen all the way to the bottom of the trench, and out of a crack in the bottom of it.

But something happened then, that the Ring did not intend.

It was picked up, by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A hobbit. Bilbo Baggins of the shire, he had been persuaded to go on an adventure with some of his acquaintances, and had noticed the Ring glittering on the ground, between some rocks.

After admiring the Ring for a long while, he started to hear the cries of Gollum echoing out of the mountain. Frightened, he slipped the Ring into his pocket and fled back to his home in the shire.

For sixty years the Ring prolonged Bilbo's life, slowly taking over his mind in exchange. But things are about to become much different. The world and the people in it have come to a crossroads, either we will all be destroyed, or the smallest of us all will prove their great worth and save us.

For thousands of years the world has been ruled and controlled by men. Among those men there were always Kings, chosen for their strength, intelligence, and power.

But what would happen, if the power was taken away from the strong, intelligent men and given to the weakest and smallest of us all? Would we still survive?

**Please review, it took me like 6 years to write this (I'm exaggerating, but it was a long time.) I might write a second chapter to actually show the beginning of the story, this is just an introduction, to set up the plot and explain things a bit. So basically a filler, but a very necessary one. **

**The Poem at the top: **My favourite poem by J.R.R Tolkien (the author of these books) translated into elvish. Believe me, you have no idea how hard it was to do that, I spent like 10 hours sitting at my computer trying to figure it out, and still a lot of it isn't right.

**Orcs: **Evil creatures. They look similar to goblins.

**Elves: **The first beings placed on middle earth by the gods. They are immortal, and very wise. Also they do not sleep but instead have waking dreams. Some elves have powers of healing or powers of foresight. *IMPORTANT* (By the way, if you don't know Lord of the Rings, elves are not like vampires, they are kind of similar but they are not the same. They are more like Renesmee I suppose.)

**Dwarf Lords: **Kings among dwarves that were given seven of the Rings of power.

**Calean: (Kah-lee- on) **Creator of the Ring. He could control all the other great Rings. He was killed in the second age, but was then partially resurrected in the third age. He hopes to get the Ring back and destroy middle earth.

**Numeanor: (New-men-or) **A city that was ruined. Kaolaan escaped the city with some of the men before it was destroyed. They came to middle earth and started the countries of Gondor and Arnor. *IMPORTANT*

**Gil-galad: **An elf. The King of Noldor during the battle of the Last Alliance. He was killed during the battle.

**Hilt (If you don't know swords): **Thehandle of the sword.

**~R~E~V~I~E~W~P~L~E~A~S~E~**


	2. Chapter 1

**Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! I got my very first flame ever!!!!!!!! A round of applause please!!!!!!!**

***takes out very long acceptance speech notes***

**Lol. Anyway as you might have guessed I got my first flame a few days ago. When I first chose to write out this story I knew a lot of people wouldn't like it because of how popular and different both of these books and movies are, and because of how passionate both fan groups are. And to be perfectly honest I don't care. I wrote this story for me because I wanted to see where the idea would take me and to see if anybody else might get something out of it. Not to make complete strangers like me.**

**I was laughing the whole time I was reading the flame. So if you don't like this story and want to tell me go right ahead. But if you expect me to get misty eyed, delete the story, and run into a dark corner to weep you are very wrong. **

**If you do like my idea and want to tell me go right ahead. I always like to hear that people are getting something out of things I spend time on. **

**Also if I get some of the more technical details wrong I'm sorry. I'm a fan of both things (lord of the rings and twilight) but I don't claim to be an expert on either one.**

**Thanks.**

**~R~E~V~I~E~W~P~L~E~A~S~E~**

**Bella POV (she's an elf by the way; I couldn't find a clever way to put that in so I'll just add it up here haha.)**

Another golden morning dawned across the eastern skies of Rivendell. I stood by the open door and watched the sun light up all the dark places left behind by the night.

Edward was still asleep behind me, much to his dismay I'm sure. He hated to 'waste his time' as he put it. I understood how he felt, I had always been nomadic, it was practically my occupation. And he was a member of the Dunedain, we trekked the world together, every great experience there was to have we wanted to share between the two of us. We had seen the great mountains, explored middle earths most haunting forests, and fought bravely in many wars, side by side each time.

I have witnessed a great many things in my long years, I have seen some things that I do not care to remember, and I have forgotten things I did not wish to dismiss from my memory.

The world had changed so much in the time that I had been on it, and I had an uneasy feeling in my heart that it was going to change once again. I couldn't explain the feeling precisely, it was like a strange feeling of dread hanging just on the corners of my mind, gently reminding me that it was there but never making itself fully known. It both frightened and puzzled me.

I heard Edward groan and roll over, pulling me from my thoughts. I threw him a sideways glance as he came out of his long slumber. He yawned loudly and ran a hand over the stubble on his face. I couldn't help but smirk at him; he always claimed that he was not tired when I knew full-well that he was exhausted. Finally he dragged his eyes open; he surveyed the room for a moment before letting his gaze rest on me.

" Hello, love." He greeted his voice still thick with sleep. I finally turned away from him to look out the doorway once again.

"Good morning Edward." I replied.

"It's morning already? I slept all through yesterday?" He inquired, horrified. I heard him sit up on the bed, I just nodded slowly.

"Why didn't you wake me?" He asked softly.

"You were long overdue for some rest. And we had nothing planned yesterday anyway." I said.

"But you must have been bored."He said, sounding upset at the fact that I had been bored.

I rolled my eyes, though he couldn't see, and laughed.

"Heaven forbid that I be bored." I said sarcastically, turning around to face him. I strode over to the bed and sat just on the edge. Instantly Edward took my hand.

I looked at his face; some of his auburn hair was falling into his eyes. Gently I reached out and pushed it back. We sat and looked into each other's eyes for an immeasurable amount of time.

I finally sighed softly and spoke again. "I wasn't bored anyway. I'm perfectly content to watch you sleep."

"Are you?" He asked, I nodded softly.

"You're content to listen to me snore?" He asked jokingly, amusement shining deep into his eyes. I smiled brightly back at him.

. . .

Hours later we stood in the main hall talking with some old friends. We had arrived early in the day yesterday and I had insisted that we go to our quarters and that Edward rested before we did anything.

I looked to Edward, his bright emerald eyes shining with joy, and I knew he was glad to be home.

We had called many places home before, but I knew this was truly his favourite place to be. This is where his mother took him before she was killed when he was still just an infant. She knew he would be safe here, among the elves.

I had met him once when he was still a child, he couldn't have been older than seven. I had been passing through for the first time in a very long time, when I noticed him crying by a fountain by himself. Curious, I approached him and asked him what was wrong. After a few sniffles he told me that he was lost. He was an adorable child. Polite and shy. I remember being slightly confused as to why an infant human child was living in Rivendell, but nevertheless I had smiled at him and told him I would take him back into the city.

I smiled remembering how grateful he had been; carefully I had placed him on my horse and taken him to the main halls, hoping to find out who his care taker was from there. On the way there I had spoken to him and learned many things about him. I, in turn, shared as much as I could with him. I held his hand as I took him into the building when we had finally arrived. As soon as I had opened the door Amelia, a younger elf that had been living here for a few hundred years, had gasped and run forward to take him. Then she started to speak so fast I could barely understand her. She alternated between scolding him, thanking me, and telling him how worried she was.

I had just nodded and responded politely. When she finally ended her rant, I gently let go of the then-unknown child and turned to leave.

He had seemed horrified that I was going to leave. He came running after me and asked me where I was going. I had smiled and told him I was just passing through. This seemed to upset him and he started to cry. I had kneeled down onto the floor and gently wiped his tears away.

"_Why are you crying?" I asked him, I didn't like to see him cry, it sent pangs of pain through my heart with every tear that fell off of his face._

"_I don't want you to go." He told me tearfully._

"_Oh." I was slightly at a loss of what to say. This beautiful human boy who I had just barely met didn't want me to leave. _

"_Well don't worry. I'll be back eventually." I said, just trying to placate him._

"_You will?" He asked._

"_Yes I will. I promise." I told him rashly._

_Finally he smiled and stopped crying. His eyes brightened and he hugged me. _

"_I'm Edward." He said after he pulled away and that was when I realized that in the whole time we had been talking I had never asked him his name and he had never asked mine. He then he handed out his hand politely for me to shake. I laughed and took his hand._

"_I'm Bella." I said, still unable to stop smiling._

"_Pretty." He said, not letting go of my hand._

"_Okay Edward, I have to go now. But I'll come back soon." I told him. His smile dropped a little but he didn't start to cry again. _

"_Okay." He relented. I let go of his hand and kissed him gently on the forehead, before turning around and heading back to my horse._

"_Bella!" I heard his tiny voice cry out. I turned around to see him running toward me. He stopped at my feet and I kneeled down to him once again._

_And then he did the most adorable thing I had ever seen a child do. _

"_Be careful and come back fast." He told me, then he carefully kissed my cheek._

I hadn't returned like I had promised, and I had always felt bad about it but I knew that I shouldn't involve myself with him. I moved on from place to place so quickly. I couldn't just pop in and out of his life.

But then something happened, I had gone back to Rivendell almost twenty years after the last time I had been there, and he had remembered me. This much older version of Edward was strikingly handsome and very intelligent. We had stayed together the whole time I had been there and he had gotten jokingly mad that I had lied to him. I had told him that I was sorry and then told him my reasoning for lying.

He had asked me about the places I had been and all the things I had seen, he asked me about my past, my interests, my preferences, anything he could think of I'm sure. And I told him.

He in turn told me everything about himself. And we had eventually learned about our feelings for each other. And when I left Rivendell months after arriving, he came with me.

I smiled at the thought, and Edward seemed to take notice.

"What is it?" He asked, returning my wistful smile with his own curious one.

"**Ile."(**You.**)** I told him. He just smiled wider at me, and we continued walking and greeted old friends and new acquaintances.

. . .

Later we had returned to our room, and were enjoying the quiet night together.

Occasionally one of us would speak, but there was not much that needed to be said in the peace of the night.

I had noticed the strange, dreadful feeling start to intensify. Now it was an almost painful ache in my head and chest. I had just kept trying to ignore it, but it was starting to go beyond the point of being able to pass off as nothing.

I saw Edward eyeing me warily, and every once and a while he would ask if I was alright. I always answered with a smile and a nod.

We stayed in silence for a while longer. But I started to feel even stranger. I felt as if someone or something was watching me. Something evil.

I was suddenly struck with a sickening feeling in the pick of my stomach. I felt all of my insides twist and clench. My hand instantly flew to my stomach and I couldn't keep the cry of pain from escaping on my lips.

Edward was across the room and in front of me in an instant. He had his hands on my face asking me what was wrong, but before I could answer I faded away from reality.

In my vision I saw a boy with a shy smile and a chubby face. But when I looked closer I realized that he wasn't a boy, but a hobbit. He was sitting at a table watching some of his friends dancing, and then he looked across the room and saw an old man step onto a podium and start speaking.

He told them he was leaving them. He said a quiet goodbye and then suddenly vanished. It seemed as though he disintegrated into thin air.

The vision changed again.

It was the same hobbit, talking to an older looking man. The man gave him a golden ring that the boy studied curiously.

I had recognized both the man and the golden ring, but I refused to let my mind make assumptions. I would have to research this. But before I could think anymore about these plans I was pulled into yet another vision.

It was the same boy again, but he was on top of a rocky hill. He was completely surrounded by tall creatures in billowy black cloaks. Their faces dark.

_No! _My mind screamed. I knew these creatures, I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

The next thing I saw frightened me so much I was paralyzed in my own mind.

I saw an eye, lidless, burning on top of a tall spiked tower. The Great Eye of Calean.

Slowly my mind started to resurface. I could hear Edward yelling at me, but I couldn't answer him just yet.

He called my name in anguish once again, and this time my body finally responded to him with a gasp.

"Bella!" He yelled, relieved. But I couldn't speak. Better yet, I couldn't _breathe_. My body was still locked down with fear. I had heard distant rumours that the Dark Lord was alive, but I had never believed any of them. I had written them off as silly stories that were told at parties to impress the guests. I had never even toyed with the idea that they were true.

"Bella what's going on? What did you see?" Edward asked. It was very rare that I had visions, it was a gift passed to me from my father, but he hadn't mastered the art so it was very weak.

"**Amin elea...amin elea..." ( **I see...I see...** ) **I said, unable to get the words out, even in my own tongue.

"**Man cenich?" ( **What do you see?** ) **He asked me gently, his hands gently smoothing over my face, trying to calm me. I knew I would never get the words out that I wanted to, and the common tongue seemed to fail me at this point so I told him the only sentence my mind could coherently form at the moment.

"**Anim caela a' auta" ( **I must go.** ) **

At first I did not think that he had heard me correctly. He just seemed to stare at me for a moment before he nodded and turned away from me. He got a sack that was hanging on the wall and started to fill it with necessities. I narrowed my eyes at him, still breathing heavily.

"**Mani naa lle umien?" ( **What are you doing?** ) **I asked him. He didn't stop moving about the room gathering things for a journey.

He ignored my question and asked me one of his own.

"**Iire lye auta?" ( **When do we leave?** )**

Then I understood what he was doing. He thought he was coming with me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"**Lle uuma dan yassen amin." ( **You cannot come with me.** ) **

He stopped moving and became completely still for a moment. My words hung in the air for a few moments before he finally spoke again.

"**Mani?" ( **What?** )**

"**Tella ier sem gothe amin caela a'tlotha." ( **There are some things that I must see to.** ) **I told him.

"**Lye solaer elea sen tela alye'." ( **We will see them done together.** ) **He insisted, but I knew that he could not come where I was going. It would be too dangerous for him. I would have to travel to Minas Tirith. I knew very well that the king there was in possession of one of the lost seeing stones. And if he knew of Edward and his lineage that would not be very good if the things I had seen turned out to mean what I thought they meant.

"**Edward, seas lasten." ( **Please listen.** )**

He looked like he was going to object for a moment, before he finally closed his mouth into a grim line and nodded for me to continue.

"**Wanwa lle caela a'tlotha semgotha ten amin." ( **While I am gone you must do something for me.** )**

" **Amin naa lle nai." ( **I am yours to command.** ) **He told me with an intense emotion burning in his eyes.

I took a deep breath once again before I spoke.

"I saw a boy, a hobbit actually. He carries something that is very dangerous. I need you to find this boy. A friend of mine might be with him." I told him.

He looked confused for a moment.

"How do I know who he is? Or where to look for him?" he asked me.

"Go east from here, and make for the village of Bree. Most hobbits dwell there or in the shire. Believe me, when you meet him you will know he is the one that I speak of."

He nodded slowly, somewhere deep inside me I was glad that he trusted me so much. No other man would go out into the strange places of the world just because his wife asked him to.

"Where will you go?" He said. I could tell he was worried about me, but he needn't be. I was only going to Minas Tirith to do some research. If I found out what I had seen was false, I would find Edward myself and take him home.

I smiled softly. "I'm afraid your journey might be more perilous than mine. I will go to Minas Tirith. And then I must see some old friends, they are very wise. If what I have seen is true then... then they'll know what to do."

He nodded. "What is it that you saw?" he asked me carefully.

I got up off the bed carefully, he lurched forward to steady me when I started to sway slightly.

I started to pack a back for myself, and for him. And while I packed I told him all about what I had witnessed.

. . .

Edwards POV

"**Nai tiruvantel ar varyuvantel i Valar tielyanna nu vilya!" ( **May the Valar protect you on your path under the sky!** ) **The Lord of Rivendell called out to Bella after I had helped her onto her horse.

I was to leave when Bella sent a note to me. She had promised me she would as soon as she was finished with her research and seeing her old mentors.

And now she was before me, in a deep green flowing dress, with her hair a curly perfect mane, looking down at me with her beautiful brown orbs.

She leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. **"Namarie ****A'maelamin." ( **Farewell, my beloved.** ) **she whispered softly in my ear.

I looked back up at her and smiled.

" **Sig varna ar'nelleck n'alaquel soqua." ( **Be safe and come back fast.** ) **I said to her and then kissed her on the cheek, just as I had done when we had first met. Then I added **"Amin mela lle." ( **I love you.** ) **

She smiled, returned my love and then turned to leave, but just before she did she reached her slender palm out towards me and dragged it slowly across my cheek. I held it there for a moment before kissing it.

She smiled softly once more before gently taking her palm back, and kicking the horse. Immediately her horse broke into a fast gallop, leaving a dust trail behind her as she went.

**HOLY BORING CHAPTER ALERT!!!!!**

**Lol. Bet I just ruined the sweet moment with that huh? Lmao. Anywho, this is probably all I will add to this for a while. **

**Have any questions? Liked It? Hated it? Don't get it? Feel the need to tell me? Go right ahead friends. :D**

**(By the way the bold stuff is them speaking elvish. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to translate all that stuff from English to Elvish. THANK GOD FOR GEEK WEBSITES!!!! HUZZAHH!)**

**~R~E~V~I~E~W~P~L~E~A~S~E~**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING (It's crazy long I know and I apologize I just wanted to make my position known)**

**I'm only borrowing the characters of Edward and Bella at the moment and I might use different people from LOTR in the future (none from Twilight) I don't speak Elvish, so if you feel the need to point out that something is wrong I would appreciate it but understand that I know there are mistakes and my aim in writing this isn't to display my knowledge of either series.**

**Also, as I mentioned the first chapter of this story was an introduction, simply INTRODUCING the Lord of the Rings setting and history to those who might not know it. It is pretty much the same as the real introduction to the LOTR movies so I don't take credit for that. **

**I've gotten a few people saying that I'm corrupting LOTR or even insulting Tolkein himself, which I find unnecessarily dramatic. If you're dead set on keeping Lord of the Rings pure, then why are you reading fanfiction which changes the story? Twilight isn't my favorite I just saw a few potentials in the connection of Edward and Bella, that's why I use them to write.**

**Constructive criticism is welcome, it's why I post in the first place. I would love to talk to anyone so if you review I will reply. If you're only going to review to say that you hate Twilight and the characters and that I'm ruining the story, either take a closer look at the story and realize that I'm only using the base of the characters and nothing else or just choose not to read this. **

**If you stuck with me through that whole rant then thank you kindly **

**Edward**

The rain fell like black obsidian shattering and refracting in the moonlight. The trees wept, the water falling and singing as it hit the brushy floor of the forest. The moons light slithered through the cloud break, only slightly successful in scattering the darkness. I stood under the hedge of the trees, a ghost in the night.

It was twelve days since Bella left; word had come from Minas Tirith, on the seventh day, that I was to leave. I had crossed the Last Bridge on the East-West road three days ago and hoped to arrive in Bree the following day.

Bella's message had not yielded any more information on what my purpose there was only that I '_arrive as soon as possible and wait at the Inn of the Prancing Pony, travel only by day, and be wary of travellers on the road'._

At the edge of the wood, hidden from the road, I waited for dawn. I stood, the ground too drowned to lie and the rain too loud to rest. My mind wandered, considering what I would do when I arrived. Bella had told me of the boy she saw, hobbit actually, before she left. He would be carrying a Ring of gold, I would arrive at the Inn and wait for him to come. I wondered if he would be alone, who he was and why I must find him.

Over the thundering rain there came a noise, only discernible because it was too rhythmic, too repetitive to be the random falling of water onto the ground. A rider on the road.

I pulled my cloak around me and disappeared further into the trees but keeping the road in sight, trying to see the traveller in the darkness, the solitary rhythm of a single horses' hooves telling me that whoever the traveller was, they were alone and approaching from the east. When I finally did see the rider it was only because of the absence of stars where they passed. A black horse bearing a cloaked rider. The steed stopped suddenly and I feared I had been discovered, but they made no move to dismount. I stood silent, an icy realization boiling in my blood.

The horse grunted and I knew it sensed my presence on this passage of the washed out road. It ambled forward a few steps and the rider sat still, listening. After what seemed like a few moments of consideration the rider turned the horse around and I listened to the beat of hooves disappear back to the east, toward the village.

I stood for a moment, listening for the rider but I heard no more disruption to the pelting rain. I recognized the rider, not for who but what it was. One of the Nazgul, they had left Minas Morgul then, but when and for what purpose? I had a feeling that though I had only seen this one the others were bound to be lurking around the village as well. Perhaps their errand was the same as my own, patrolling the roads in search of this boy. Bella had said that I would know the ring that this boy carried by its evil power, the one true evil. So it was true then, what Bella had seen. The Ring had been found, it must have been if the wraiths were here, they could always feel its presence and they must be searching for it. The boy, hobbit, must have the true ring, and they were looking for it. I now realized my purpose in being here; I must find this boy who bore the Ring, Kadeem's Bane. I would find him and take him to Rivendell, protecting him from the Dark Lords servants, and when I delivered him to Rivendell a decision would be made about what to do with that most terrible Ring. I could only hope to find him before the Nazgul.

I had left the village of Bree three days ago heading east to try and find the hobbits and ensure their safe passage to the village. I tracked the wraiths knowing now that they were looking for the Ring which would lead them to the boy. I couldn't know for sure how many there were but I had come upon at least three different tracks belonging to the wraiths. I was careful not to follow too closely behind them, keeping myself hidden in the cover of the trees and only tracking them in the cover of darkness. I had drawn upon the limited knowledge I had of the cloaked riders, they rode horses because they were blind or close to it, they had a keen sense of smell and relied upon that to track their prey. I had been grateful for the rain the previous nights that helped to drown my scent and made them less likely to realize that I was following them.

The moon was high in the sky tonight, though it was hard to see through the cloud cover, I had last found tracks a few hours ago and I knew that they were slowly branching out eastward, hoping to find the hobbit before he reached the village. I too travelled farther east now, hoping that I had gambled right on which path they would approach from, and searched for any sign.

I came upon a narrow path that cut unobtrusively through the trees and finally found what I had been looking for. Four different sets of footprints headed towards the village not yet washed away by the rain meaning that they had passed this way not long ago. The prints were instantly recognizable as hobbit prints because of the toe marks in the dirt, they were not wearing shoes. I allowed myself a smile at my success and sank back into the trees following beside the path. Every several minutes I would go back to the side of the path and look for more prints, as I travelled quickly up the path the prints became more frequent and I knew that I was catching up to them.

A few minutes later I spotted a light up the path, about a hundred yards ahead. The fools had started a fire! They must not know that they are being tracked, or were just unskilled in travelling secretly. I dropped further into the trees and continued towards their camp, keeping silent and hidden. When they had come into my sight I stopped to observe them from a distance. Four companions around a small fire, I noticed that two of them had fallen asleep against the roots of the trees while the other two sat on a log beside the fire appearing to be cooking something by the smell that the wind blew to my hiding place.

Idiots! I scowled, it seemed as though they had no idea what the word secret meant. Did they have any idea of the importance of what they were doing? What they carried?

As I thought this one of the sleeping hobbits got up suddenly and stamped out the fire. Thinking he must have seen something I started to move closer to their camp, scanning the trees for other hidden trackers. I came within thirty feet of their camp and saw them looking around for something that might have seen their fire when I heard what they were looking for. A shriek floated through the trees on the wind, anonymous and unsettling. It was calling to the others and I heard them respond, coming closer to close in around the hobbits, at least four different screeches.

They realized this too and gathered their things quickly and turned to run into the forest away from the path. I followed at a distance keeping my footfalls as silent as possible as I ran scanning the trees and listening for the wraiths calls and trying to decipher how close they were. The hobbits came to a small clearing and stopped, the wraiths had stopped calling to each other, I strained my ears listening for the sounds of their horses but I heard nothing over the misty rain on the trees.

The hobbits seemed to think themselves safe because they sat on the grass now, obviously spent from their flight. I continued to look for their quarry but could see no trace of them in the shadow of the trees. I watched the hobbits from several yards away; they appeared to be discussing something and did so for a few minutes before finally turning and continuing to run through the trees with a defined purpose. I pursued them, keeping back and searching the forest for any sign of their other followers.

It seemed they were headed for Baranduin, and then they would make for the Brandywine Bridge. They would take to the river to lose the wraiths, it was their best option; they couldn't hope to outrun the riders. I would follow them, and keep out of sight, until they reached the village. As I made my choice I heard the footfalls of a horse and realized that I too had a follower. Through the trees several yards behind me I spotted its black cloak fluttering in the wind, its steed's eyes glittering in the moonlight. I scaled the closest tree and hovered silently, hoping it would pass under without seeing me. They came within ten feet of my tree, the horse stopped; I heard the wraith searching the air for a scent. If he found anything he must have decided it was not what he was after and pulled the horse back to follow the hobbits trail.

As the rider disappeared into the blackness once more I scaled down from the tree and followed. The river was not far now, and I hoped that the hobbits would make it there before the riders. I ran through the trees now having fallen behind waiting for the wraith to pass. Up ahead I heard a screech and shouting, I cursed abandoning secrecy and racing ahead. The shouting and screeching got louder and I saw the clearing where the hobbits had been caught and were scrambling to escape from the riders. They ran under the horses bodies and disappeared into the woods, the wraiths turning to follow. Realizing they were still quite a distance ahead of me I cut slightly to my right and darted through the trees hoping to get between the riders and the hobbits.

The thinning trees and brush slightly slowed the horses and gave the small hobbits a tiny advantage as they weaved through the bushes and got ever closer to the river. They would have to emerge eventually and would lose that advantage when they were forced from the trees and had to run to the wooden ferry on the edge of the river. I could hear the quiet rush of the water as I ran and I prayed they would make it.

I saw the path ahead only several meters away now and saw a shadow fly past following one of the hobbits who had fallen behind the others. The rider pulled around the hobbit and stopped in front of him, blocking his way. I leaned down as I ran, picking up a small rock as I emerged onto the path. I hurled the rock towards the shadow around thirty feet away, I missed but I saw its head turn to see what had flown past giving the hobbit a moment to slip around the beast and get out of the trees while it was distracted. I ran toward the creature and drew my sword before it could turn to follow him.

It knew I was there now and drew its own sword to defend itself, dismounting and slithering toward me. From the corner of my left periphery I saw another wraith emerge from the trees and fly toward the river taking up the chase. I ran toward the cloaked figure in front of me and raised my sword to block its attack. Our swords clashed and I pulled back immediately to strike again at its middle. I connected with the center of its body, it screeched once and flew back several feet and looked suddenly toward the river. I looked and saw the hobbit approaching the dock where the others had already gotten into and launched the boat. The wraith was only a handful of feet behind him and I heard the other hobbits yelling 'Jump Milo, jump!'. He reached the dock and the wraith reached out to grab him, its armored hand glinting in the light of the fading moon. The hobbit reached the end of the dock and jumped, the hood of his cloak slipped through the fingers of the wraith. He landed on the ferry and his pursuer pulled the reins stopping its horse that screamed in surprise, hooves sliding to a stop on the wooden dock.

I turned back to my opponent who screeched and remounted its horse disappearing back into the trees; the other followed screeching its defeat. I retreated into the shadow of the forest as well and waited for them to disperse. They would know where the hobbits were headed now, and I knew I must make it there before them and ensure that the hobbits made it to the Prancing Pony safely. The sky began to lighten, night turning into day, as the rain misted down creating a dense fog that would aid in shielding both the hobbits and I as we journeyed to the village of Bree. I sheathed my sword and pulled my hood onto my head keeping the river in my sight and I walked through the forest.

It was twenty miles to the Brandywine Bridge from here, and only a few more beyond that to the village. We would arrive by nightfall, and at the Inn of the Prancing Pony I would make my presence known to them and deliver the Ring to Rivendell where its fate would be decided.

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